BOSTON — More speed restrictions are set to be lifted in the coming days on MBTA lines as the beleaguered agency’s acting chief executive pledges to ensure a system-wide slowdown “doesn’t never happen again”.
It was slow for MBTA riders last week. The MBTA briefly implemented “blanket” speed restrictions at 10-25mph last Thursday due to “inadequate” documentation of lane faults. The question arose after a visit to the Department of Public Services Red Line site.
“As we move forward and go through this process, we make sure that the information we collect and the verification and validation process is accurate, and because of that, it takes time,” said said MBTA’s acting CEO. Jeff Gonneville at a press conference Friday.
“Each of these very specific faults has a detailed series of actions that must be taken at each of these individual locations,” he continued. “It takes time. And it takes time to do it, too, between the bandwagons that we do every day.”
Speed restrictions are no longer in place for the entirety of any line except the Green Line, but there are still some places on the Red, Orange, Blue and Mattapan Lines where trains must slow down.
The riders’ frustration is tangible, noticing the longer ride. “I was on the red line today and felt like I could have walked faster,” Boston’s Alexis Santos said.
“It’s an inconvenience for everyone, but obviously safety comes first,” said Cambridge’s Dana Schuh, “but if they could speed up the process that would be great.”
Gonneville said the T “takes a conservative approach” to addressing the issue and prioritizing pilot safety. He said the global slowdown on the Green Line should be lifted on Saturday and other speed restrictions will disappear in the coming days.
“As we continue to verify and validate track conditions, I will report our findings and take the necessary steps to ensure this does not happen again,” he said.